LAWS 2076

This course entails an in-depth analysis of poverty and the social welfare system in Canada, with particular emphasis on specific federal and provincial (primarily Nova Scotia) legislation. The constitutional implications of certain legislative provisions will be examined vis-a-vis the Charter, in particular ss. 7 and 15 and s. 36 of the Constitutional Act, 1982. Discussion will also be had of Canada’s international obligations to alleviate poverty and how these commitments are used by poverty lawyers. Participants will discuss how to interpret poverty legislation. Issues such as the right to welfare and/or an adequate annual income will be debated. We will look critically at the lawyer’s role in pursuing remedies to the problems of people of low income.ENROLMENT: 16 students